Tuesday 2 July 2013

My past two months in fast-forward: Running around in Bern, attending an environmental show in Tokyo and going sight-seeing in Istanbul



Location: Bern, Switzerland; Tokyo, Japan; Istanbul, Turkey

Whoever thought that a teddy bear’s life is about as exciting as watching paint dry, thought wrong. Specifically, if you read through the next few lines.

Over the past two months I was barely at home and pretty much got used to making me comfortable in different types of travelling bags. In addition to learning how to sleep in suitcases during long flight hours, I learned how to say “thank you very much” in Japanese and Turkish, and I managed to overcome my weaker self by taking part in the annual fun run in Switzerland, the Grand Prix of Bern



 









In keeping with the motto “business before pleasure”, the first stage of my partial round-the-world-trip required me run 10 miles across bridges, through forests and the historic city of Bern. Even though it was anything but easy, I just kept running. The atmosphere was full of joy and ambition which helped me keep until I crossed the finishing line. It felt amazing being part of this event and I can only recommend it to anyone looking for a personal challenge. This event is also perfectly summed up here.




The second stage of my journey involved me getting on a plane to Tokyo. There I spend my time at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition venue and supported a company’s exhibition team by trying to catch the attention of exhibitors. In most cases this worked well. Once I was even snatched by the event’s mascot which was very keen on getting a picture with me. Unfortunately, during my stay in Japan I didn’t really have the chance to get to know the city and to learn about its sights and interesting places. After about a week, I had to get back into the suitcase and make my way home.





Thankfully, in the third and final stage of my journey I had a little more time to explore my new “home for a week” a bit further. Istanbul, Turkey is a very beautiful city and surprisingly clean, at least in the areas I had the chance to glimpse at. Even though I only had one day for sightseeing as I was busy with another environmental show for the rest of the week, I managed to look at the Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Mosque), walked through the big bazaar and got the tram and the second oldest underground tram in the world to the other part of the town where Gezi Park and Taksim Square are located. However, one day or even a period one week is by far not enough time to explore Istanbul. Well, maybe I’ll take part at another trade show in Istanbul next year.

Thank you!

Teşekkür ederim!

Arigatō gozaimasu!


Yours August

Thursday 3 January 2013

Exploring Lyon’s new tram line


Location: Lyon, France

My dearest readers, I hope you’ve had fantastic New Year’s Eve and you’ll have a promising start to the year 2013! 

I know it’s been a while since my last post but I’ve been incredibly busy working on a project which meant that I didn’t have much time to travel at all. Though, at the end of November last year I actually managed to leave said project alone for a week and made my way to Lyon, France by car. I’m aware that driving is not the most environmentally-friendly way to get around, but since I helped out preparing the trade show presence for a company exhibiting at the POLLUTEC 2012, I was not the only one that needed carrying across the whole country of Germany…  There was also a bulk of goods required for equipping and decorating the exhibition space travelling alongside me. After nine hours of being comfortably seated next to a decorative flower-box, three glass vases and numerous boxes full of company handouts in different languages, we arrived in Lyon.

Just a few weeks prior to the POLLUTEC trade show on November 17th, a new tram route (T5) was opened, connecting Grange Blanche Station and the exhibition centre. A tram journey from the exhibition centre to the centre of Lyon takes about 30 to 45 minutes and includes one change. This really makes it easier and more convenient for exhibitors and visitors of trade shows to get to the fair ground from the city centre of Lyon. It certainly worked for us! Besides using it for our daily trip to the exhibition ground we got on it to reach the very gorgeous city centre of Lyon, which is where the following pictures of me where captured.

 
 













Just wondering, since we took the tram every day, maybe this can make up for the many kilometres covered by car at least to a small extent, no?

Hope to see you again next time.
Yours August